News

Dec 27, 2017 - News for self-employed EU citizens

The Court of Justice of the European Union in the case of C‑442/16 Florea Gusa v Minister for Social Protection (Ireland) has found that self-employed EU citizens who become unemployed retain their worker status and right to reside in the same way as people in direct employment who lose their jobs. This means that the EEA Regulations 2016 will need to be amended to reflect this.

This is good news for those EEA nationals who are seeking to demonstrate a right to reside in the UK during periods of economic inactivity, particularly in preparation for a Permanent Residence Card under the EEA Regul...

Dec 22, 2017 - Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Law Firm Limited team wishes all our clients and friends peace, joy and prosperity throughout the coming year. Thank you for your continued support and partnership and  we would like to express our sincerest gratitude for trusting us on your project. We look forward to working with you in the years to come. This year was very special for all of us at Law Firm Limited. We have opened new office in Dubai and now we welcome clients in three different parts of the world. Let the New Year bring all of us happiness and success. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Dec 21, 2017 - British passport changes its colour

After the UK leaves EU, British citizens will receive passports in blue colour. This  change will be effective from October 2019. Existing red passports will remain valid until they expire.

Red British passports have existed for almost 30 years since the United Kingdom joined the European Union and adopted a European style of passports.

Dec 19, 2017 - Brexit Negotiations: Agreement Reached on EU Citizens' Rights

The UK Government has just reached an agreement with the European Union on EU citizens’ rights in the UK after the UK leaves the EU on 29th March 2019. There will be reciprocal protections and rights for UK nationals living in the EU. They are as follows:

  • Those who have been living in the UK for 5 continuous years can apply for the new ‘settled status’, meaning they will be free to live in the UK indefinitely, have access to public funds and services and can go on to apply for British citizenship;
  • Those who arrived before 29th March 2019, but have not been in the UK for 5 years will b...

Dec 18, 2017 - News for Masters students

On the 18th of December Home Office announced that it will extend the Tier 4 visa pilot scheme for international Masters students willing to study the course of 13 month or less in the UK. The pilot was launched 2 years ago for four universities: Oxford, Cambridge, Bath and Imperial College London. This pilot was aimed to simplify the visa process for international Masters students and also support those who wish to switch to work visa after graduation giving them 6 extra months to find a job.  According to Tier 4 pilot visa scheme students will not need to submit financial documents or any pr...

Dec 11, 2017 - Changes to Immigration Rules from 11 January 2018

New Statement of changes was passed to the Parliament on the 7th of December 2017. These changes will come into force from 11th of January 2018. We are pointing out the most significant ones.

PBS Dependant partners

The most significant change will apply to the number of absence days of PBS Dependant partners. Now the limitation of 180 absence days applies only to the main applicant, but from 11th of January the same requirement will apply to PBS Dependant partners. In order to avoid the retrospective effect, new rules will apply to the PBS Dependent applicants who will apply on or after 11th o...

Dec 08, 2017 - Brexit breakthrough

British Prime Minister Theresa May and the European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker announced main points of agreement between UK and EU in Brexit deal. There will be no “hard border” between Northern Ireland and the Republic. EU citizens living in the UK and vice versa will have their rights to stay, live, work and study. They will also keep the right to bring their relatives such as spouses, partners and children to settle with them in Britain.  UK also agreed to pay into the EU budget in 2019 and 2020 as normal and pay its liabilities. Though there is no certain figure of how much...

Nov 28, 2017 - Royal Engagement & the Immigration Rules

We wish to congratulate Prince Harry and Miss Meghan Markle on their engagement! As Miss Markle is a non-EEA national, she is subject to the very strict UK Immigration Rules, in particular Appendix FM, fiancée and spouse visa rules.

It is believed that Miss Markle is currently on a six month fiancée visa, this means that she must be married within this time and then switch into the spouse visa. The requirements are very similar for both applications, they must be in a genuine and subsisting relationship, intend to live together in the UK, have adequate accommodation and meet the very strict fi...

Nov 23, 2017 - Autumn Statement 2017

Autumn Statement 2017. Main points

Yesterday the Chancellor unveiled his budget, the first since the election and the penultimate one prior to Brexit, while Brexit was obviously in his thoughts and in one announcement the thin majority of the Conservative party led to the budget being fairly bland with no big surprises and no controversial measures in the headlines.

From a UK income tax perspective, the allowances and rate bands were increased as expected with the personal allowance rising from £11,500 in the current year to £11,850 next year.  The level at which higher rate tax starts has ris...

Nov 22, 2017 - Changes to the Stamp Duty

According to new Budget-2017, the first time buyers will not pay stamp duty when buying the property up to £300 000 starting from 22 November 2017. For properties above £500 000, no stamp duty will be paid on the first £300 000. This change will take place in England, Northern Ireland and Wales but it will not apply in Scotland as it has its own system of land tax. New Stamp Duty would affect 95% of first-time buyers with 80% not paying any stamp duty. The policy will cost the Treasury £3.2bn over the next five years and it is expected that house prices will rise by 0.3% within a year because ...

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